HCM CITY  —  Residents in HCM City’s District 7 have demanded that authorities should resolve the environmental problems caused by the Đa Phước solid waste treatment complex and the bad odour from its landfill.

On Monday the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued a document with proposed measures in reply to their demand, but they did not go far enough in dispelling the odour.

Meanwhile, environmental experts said the volume of waste dumped at the Đa Phước site needed to be reduced.

The District 7-based Phú Mỹ Hưng Development Corp., which has developed an urban area in District 7 where thousands of people live, has petitioned relevant agencies to take measures to prevent the odour since it has no authority to deal with environmental problems.

According to Dr Phạm Viết Thuận from the HCM City Institute for Natural Resources and Environment, before deodorising the area the volume of waste dumped at Đa Phước has to be reduced.

The enormous volumes of wastes dumped there – 5,000 tonnes a day – cause the emission of large volumes of gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, which then spread around the Sài Gòn South area.

Đa Phước needs to return 2,000 tonnes of waste per day to the Phước Hiệp waste treatment facility in Củ Chi District and spray air fresheners at Đa Phước.

He said taking solid waste to the Phước Hiệp dumping site would also help the city reduce costs since Đa Phước charged higher.

Huỳnh Minh Nhựt, director of the HCM City Urban Environment Company Limited, said his company was ready to dump wastes at Phước Hiệp if city authorities agree.

Constant complaints about odour

Lan Ngọc, who lives in Lacasa Phú Mỹ Hưng apartments, said the bad odours start at 6.30am everyday. She would like to take a walk but could not because of it, she said.

Thuỳ Dương, who lives in Belleza apartments, said she no longer sat by the window for fresh air because she could not stand the odour, but authorities had done nothing to tackle the problem.

“We have yet to be informed about the remedy to the environmental problems at the Đa Phước waste treatment complex, from where the bad odour comes.”

The stink has not only affected her personal life but also her business.

Nguyễn Thị Hồng Hà, a resident of Chateau apartments (in Phú Mỹ Hưng area), said the smell affects 12,000 households in the area with some 30,000 members.

Environmental violations must be fined and repeat violators must be shut down, she said angrily.VNS